Close call
By TOM BONEBluefield Daily Telegraph
PRINCETON — The Bluefield Beavers desperately needed two Moore points to avoid overtime. At the last possible moment, Dexter Moore provided them.
Moore slithered his way down the baseline for a layup as time expired Friday night to foil a spectacular James Monroe comeback and capture the Region VII, Section 2 championship for Bluefield 47-45 on the Princeton Senior High School court.
“Great players make great plays,” said Bluefield center Tremayne Matthews. “I love him for that play right there.”
Nothing of the sort seemed necessary after one half of play. The No. 7-ranked Beavers converted half of their 26 field-goal tries and played shutdown defense at times.
James Monroe was 3-for-13 from the floor in the first quarter. Guard Cory Bradley had back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Mavericks a 10-8 lead. The next JMHS field goal came 15 minutes later, halfway through the third quarter.
Bluefield coach Ernie Gilliard said, “That’s our trademark. Defense is our trademark. If we had not gotten an early start, it could have been real bad for us, because they (James Monroe) are a heck of a team.”
Meanwhile, Moore provided six straight Bluefield points to retake the lead, and the Beavers held a 32-18 margin at the halftime buzzer. Bradley scored 17 of the Mavericks’ 18 first-half points.
James Monroe coach Jason Mathis said that Bradley “stuck with the game plan. He was the one taking it to the hole. He was the one executing what we had performed and practiced.”
Bradley said, “I struggled against PikeView (on Tuesday). I worked hard in practice. I just came out and start.ed hitting.”
In the third quarter, the Beavers went out of their full-court press and managed just one field goal. The Mavericks scored two buckets, both from drives by senior center Corey Miller.
The Monroe countians opened the floodgates in the fourth period, going on a 16-5 run. A 3-pointer by Heath Mullins cut Bluefield’s lead to 41-39. In the final 1:36, Bradley was 6-for-6 at the foul line to give the Mavs a 45-43 lead.
Moore was fouled with 24.6 seconds on the clock and re-tied it at 45. A traveling call on JMHS with 4.7 seconds left gave Moore his final chance — and the victory.
“Dexter made a good play,” Mathis said quietly.
“I knew I had to go get the ball and step up and make a big basket,” Moore said. “I was confident with what I wanted to do. ... I was able to get all the way to the rim.”
Matthews, who had 11 points and nine rebounds, said, “They got the momentum going, and they were just running us. Then we got in foul trouble a little bit, and we were playing a little soft after that.”
Gilliard said, “The first half, we sort of took the ball inside. In the second half, we started settling for jump shots ... and when you miss those, a quality team like James Monroe can get back in it. They do a great job of rebounding and boxing out.”
The second half, Mathis said, “it’s team effort. We had senior leadership with Heath Mullins and Corey Miller ... They led us back into the basketball game. They kept their composure and kept us going.”
Mathis said he thought the Mavs’ 1-3-1 defense would provide an advantage, “but Bluefield prepared well for it. ... The first half, Bluefield was doing an outstanding job of rebounding the basketball and getting second or third shots.
“The second half ... we made a few adjustments, we calmed a few people down, and we started taking the basketball to the hole. It paid off in the long run. When you’re down 18 points, it takes a long time to come back. You’ve got to be patient.”
The Beavers play Thursday for the regional title against Independence, who beat Shady Spring. The regional championship game will also be held at Princeton at 7:30 p.m.
— Contact Tom Bone at
tbone@bdtonline.com
At Princeton Senior High School
JAMES MONROE (12-12)
Cory Bradley 5 16-18 28, Heath Mullins 1 0-0 3, Corey Miller 3 3-3 9, Taylor Robertson 1 1-2 3, Jason Jackson 1 0-0 2. Totals 11 20-23 45.
BLUEFIELD (18-5)
Jonathan Payne 1 0-0 2, Kyle Hammond 4 0-0 10, Maurice Jordan 3 1-3 7, Dexter Moore 4 4-5 12, Ansel Ponder 1 1-2 3, Tremayne Matthews 5 1-3 11, Shawn Brooks 0 2-3 2. Totals 18 9-16 47.
James Monroe...................10 8 5 22 — 45
Bluefield.............................14 18 4 11 — 47
3-point goals—JM 3 (Bradley 2, Mullins 1); BHS 2 (Hammond 2).
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